Elaine Ingham is an American

microbiologist A microbiologist (from Ancient Greek, Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of Microorganism, microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, f ...

and

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

biology researcher and founder of Soil Foodweb Inc. She is known as a leader in soil

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, prot ...

and research of the

soil food web The soil food web is the community of organisms living all or part of their lives in the soil. It describes a complex living system in the soil and how it interacts with the environment, plants, and animals. Food webs describe the transfer of en ...

, She is an author of the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

's ''Soil Biology Primer''.

Career

In 1981, Ingham earned a PhD from the

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

in microbiology with an emphasis in soil. Along with her husband Russ, who has a doctorate in zoology emphasizing

nematology Nematology is the scientific discipline concerned with the study of nematodes, or roundworms. Although nematological investigation dates back to the days of Aristotle or even earlier, nematology as an independent discipline has its recognizable ...

, she was offered a post-doctoral fellowship at the Natural Resource Ecology Lab at Colorado State University. In 1985, she accepted a Research Associate Fellowship at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

. In 1986, Ingham moved to

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

and joined the faculty in both Forest Science and Botany and Plant Pathology. She remained on faculty until 2001. Ingham has been an Affiliate Professor of Sustainable Living at

Maharishi University of Management Maharishi International University (MIU), formerly Maharishi University of Management, is a private university in Fairfield, Iowa. It was founded in 1973 by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and features a "consciousness-based education" system that includes ...

Fairfield, Iowa Fairfield is a city in, and the county seat of, Jefferson County, Iowa. It has a population of 9,416 people, according to the 2020 census. The median family income is $46,138, with 10% of families below the poverty line. The city is typical o ...

, Adjunct Faculty at

Southern Cross University Southern Cross University (SCU) is an Australian public university, with campuses at Lismore and Coffs Harbour in northern New South Wales, and at Coolangatta, the most southern suburb of the Gold Coast in Queensland. It is ranked in the top ...

Lismore, New South Wales Lismore is a city in northeastern New South Wales, Australia and the main population centre in the City of Lismore Local government in Australia, local government area; it is also a regional centre in the Northern Rivers region of the State. It ...

, Australia from 1999 to 2005, Visiting Professor with

Melbourne University The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

from 2004 to 2008, and was Program Chair of the

Ecological Society of America The Ecological Society of America (ESA) is a professional organization of ecological scientists. Based in the United States and founded in 1915, ESA publications include peer-reviewed journals, newsletters, fact sheets, and teaching resources. I ...

from 1999 to 2000.Dr Ingham's web portal
/ref> She was named chief scientist at

The Rodale Institute Rodale Institute is a non-profit organization that supports research into organic farming. It was founded in Emmaus, Pennsylvania in 1947 by J. I. Rodale, an organic living entrepreneur. After J.I. Rodale died in 1971, his son Robert Rodale purcha ...

in 2011 and was later director of research and an instructor at the Agricultural Celebration Institute's farm in California. She is the founder of Soil Foodweb Inc, which works with

soil testing Soil test may refer to one or more of a wide variety of soil analysis conducted for one of several possible reasons. Possibly the most widely conducted soil tests are those done to estimate the plant-available concentrations of plant nutrients, i ...

laboratories to assess

soil biology Soil biology is the study of microbial and faunal activity and ecology in soil. Soil life, soil biota, soil fauna, or edaphon is a collective term that encompasses all organisms that spend a significant portion of their life cycle within a soil ...

Selected publications

* Ingham, E.R. and M. Alms. (1999), ''The Compost Tea Handbook'' 1.1 * Ingham, E.R. (2000) ''The Compost Tea Brewing Manual''. Sustainable Studies Institute, Eugene, Oregon. 2nd–5th eds. Soil Foodweb Inc, Corvallis, Oregon. * Ingham, E. R. (1999). Chapters 1–5 in: ''The Soil Biology Primer''. NRCS Soil Quality Institute, USDA. * Ingham, E.R. (2004). "The Soil Foodweb: Its Role in Ecosystems Health". In: ''The Overstory Book: Cultivating Connections with Trees''. Ed. Craig R. Elevitch. 2nd ed. Holualoa, Hawaii: Permanent Agriculture Resources. * Ingham, E.R. and M.D. Slaughter. (2005). "The Soil Foodweb–Soil and Composts As Living Ecosystems". International SoilACE Conference in Soil and Compost Eco-Biology. Leon, Spain. 1: 127-139.

References

External links

Soil Foodweb Inc

Life in the Soil Class by Dr. Elaine Ingham
* Koons, Deborah (2012)
''Symphony of the Soil''
documentary. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingham, Elaine Women microbiologists American microbiologists Soil biology Living people Year of birth missing (living people)

Career

Selected publications

See also

References

External links